Hooliganism and Violence Maine Road 80's/early 90's

dennishasdoneit said:
I bumped into a utd lad called Brian,. in a Derbyshire pub few years back.We got chatting ,and he made it clear he was one of their main lads back in the day...I wasn't into the fighting,and he said
my last fight was back in 1989! ..said it as a sort of I'm not interested now type of thing
Which was cool because our paths crossed many times in near by pubs for over a year...
Getting to know him better,we had mutual respect tbh,he said it was the 89 Maine Rd Derby that was specifically his last fight. Bit older than me, knew his football,and I do believe him when he said he was in the north stand for the 5-1, I honestly can't remember if he said he got led out or he stayed......it was a tense friendship for a good year because at that time I was absolutely Blue mental, home and away,...it was just a coincidence that his last fighting day as a utd fan,was
Imy First ever Manchester Derby. I was on the Kippax that day and can clearly remember the match being stopped as utd fans poured. out of the north stand onto the pitch,led round to platt lane.Football in those days was just so different.
I think quite a few utd stayed in the NS,because watching the goals back over the years
Not everybody jumps up to cheer them in that stand.
The tension that day was unbelievable,will stay with me forever.
What a day.
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I’m in the same boat as this fella , wouldn’t get involved in it in any way shape or form nowadays , you’d have to be simple to with the technology the police have , but the last time I got involved was outside the pub on the top of lever street that turn d in to a Brazilian restaurant , running utd al the way back to Piccadilly , always makes me laugh a scroat at the front of them shouting SALFORD SALFORD SALFORD, only to run like a rabbit ….
 
Maintainin said:
Very sound lads in that pic, always ever-present week in week out, home n away.

39 years ago that, 1986, 2nd match of new season n very eventful long day, evening n night.

Just back from Liverpool away n on the hunt for United (again) to recontinue the frolics had earlier that morning on Vic.
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Little Jimmy (JV) in the white sweater sadly passed away around the end of 2023
Gone but never forgotten.
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Is that one of the Francis brothers leading the way mate?
 
BAB.DAB said:

I was there ,
Remember the hammer's singing
"You'll be back in 88 " to us
Dont think stone island was around in them days
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I remember it was fucking boiling. We played really well, Stewart especially. Think even if we’d won we’d have only had to play a Div 2 team in a play off.
Remember coming out the ground and feeling a mix of unalloyed love for the team but thinking how long it would be before we’d ever be decent. That was a poor team that deserved to get relegated.
 
The Salford lad. said:
I’m in the same boat as this fella , wouldn’t get involved in it in any way shape or form nowadays , you’d have to be simple to with the technology the police have , but the last time I got involved was outside the pub on the top of lever street that turn d in to a Brazilian restaurant , running utd al the way back to Piccadilly , always makes me laugh a scroat at the front of them shouting SALFORD SALFORD SALFORD, only to run like a rabbit ….
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The Land O' Cakes
 
johnnytapia said:
I remember it was fucking boiling. We played really well, Stewart especially. Think even if we’d won we’d have only had to play a Div 2 team in a play off.
Remember coming out the ground and feeling a mix of unalloyed love for the team but thinking how long it would be before we’d ever be decent. That was a poor team that deserved to get relegated.
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Of the four teams we had that were relegated from the top flight between 1983 and 2001, that one was unquestionably the worst.
 
gordondaviesmoustache said:
Of the four teams we had that were relegated from the top flight between 1983 and 2001, that one was unquestionably the worst.
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I was born in 1980 so don't remember 83. But seeing the squad and listening to my dad (endlessly!) talk about it, they should never have gone down. Similar story in 1996 too IMO (just gave ourselves way too much to do after horrendous first 10 results). 87 and 01 both not great sides, but there was a sense of inevitability of us going down in 1987 that wasn't there in the same way in 2001. 87 a collection of (too) young boys, has-beens and never-was-beens really (and I look at that team with some fondness - still got the signed squad poster!). Despite some players in 2001 not really at top flight level (too many odd/desperate loan signings), still think they were a shade better. Some poor games; losing 1-0 at home to Leicester around Bonfire Night is a particularly bad memory. But some decent results/performances too (Everton, Leeds at home, Newcastle away).

So I'd go (best to worst)
1983
1996
2001
1987
 
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Abattoir Blue said:
I was born in 1980 so don't remember 83. But seeing the squad and listening to my dad (endlessly!) talk about it, they should never have gone down. Similar story in 1996 too IMO (just gave ourselves way too much to do after horrendous first 10 results). 87 and 01 both not great sides, but there was a sense of inevitability of us going down in 1987 that wasn't there in the same way in 2001. 87 a collection of (too) young boys, has-beens and never-was-beens really (and I look at that team with some fondness - still got the signed squad poster!). Despite some players in 2001 not really at top flight level (too many odd/desperate loan signings), still think they were a shade better. Some poor games; losing 1-0 at home to Leicester around Bonfire Night is a particularly bad memory. But some decent results/performances too (Everton, Leeds at home, Newcastle away).

So I'd go (best to worst)
1983
1996
2001
1987
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Interesting and being a lot older my memories are slightly different, albeit neither right nor wrong

1983 came as a complete shock, but I do recall the previous season falling off a cliff and harbouring doubts and concerns about our lack of quality, particularly after thrashings at Swansea and Wolves.
It was also patently obvious that John Bond's short termism had a shelf life, and with hindsight, he sold players who weren't good enough for where we wanted to be (Palmer Mackenzie Bennett) but were superior to where we ended up.

1987 was horrible from start to finish, and apart from Mick McCarthy's bullet header to snatch a draw against United, a fortuitous Christmas victory over Sheffield Wednesday and maybe a sense that we had 3-4 emerging youngsters, it was a depressingly familiar tale of late home defeats against Everton, Liverpool and Chelsea.

1996 only seems like yesterday, but following a disastrous start we actually played some good football, particularly at Maine Road.
We had a good nucleus of players, but appeared spineless and even mutinous when things were going wrong.

Everyone remembers the infamous time wasting when we needed another goal, but I would also argue that selling Gary Flitcroft at such a crucial time was equally disastrous

2001 was the only season when I attended every game and there was a moment during the 3-2 defeat at home to Ipswich when I feared that the Joe Royle Feelgood Factor had passed its sell by date, and the team was now running on empty fumes.
However 4-5 of those players were good enough to feature regularly in the early days of the Keegan era when City returned to the PL in a much stronger position

So my list (from best to worst)

1996
2001
1983
1987
 
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